Kids’ food allergies can affect the GI tract: Symptoms parents should know

Kids and adults with food-related allergies might experience:

Children with food allergies and GI symptoms often also have eczema, atopic dermatitis, asthma, or another of the many types of allergy conditions.

Families typically discover food allergies through trigger symptoms. For example, I am allergic to almonds, and when I accidentally eat something with almond in it, my lips begin to tingle and my throat starts to close. For GI symptoms, parents might notice their child develops stomach pain, vomiting, or diarrhea within hours of eating triggering food.

Children can have skin testing (such as skin prick or patch testing) to find out whether they are sensitive or allergic to a particular type of food. These kids often can manage symptoms by avoiding trigger foods or swapping them for specially prepared alternatives. Families today have more allergy-friendly food options than ever thanks to brands and restaurants that offer gluten-free, soy-free, and vegan (egg- and milk-free) items on their menus.

However, sometimes no particular food group is identified as a trigger for a child’s reactions, even after trying an elimination diet. In these cases, the condition might not be a food allergy at all, but something more complex and rare.

Children with gastrointestinal symptoms in presence of other atopic diseases, such as eczema, atopic dermatitis, or asthma should be tested for eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs). These inflammatory GI conditions affect fewer than 20 out of 100,000 patients  in the U.S.

EGIDs are often diagnosed in children and involve an influx of eosinophils — a type of white blood cells that fight allergens — in the GI tract and the bloodstream, causing symptoms, including:

Left untreated, EGIDs can cause malnutrition, iron-deficiency anemia, and damage to the GI tract.

We diagnose EGIDs by first taking a thorough history of the patient’s symptoms including food allergies and aversions, as well as reviewing any allergy testing that has been done. Patients with a personal or family history food/environmental allergy conditions such as eczema or asthma might be at increased risk to develop EGIDs.